File tray



pn' M, l5@ E. MILLER 2,503,833

FILE TRAY Filed Maron 7, 194e Patented Apr. 1l, 1950 FILE TRAY Everett Miller, New Hope, Pa., assigner to Luscombe Engineering Company, Inc., North Wales, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 7, 1946, Serial No. 652,558

This invention relates to le -trays and more particularly to file trays having means associated therewith for presenting. material contained in the file tray to the user in a more readily accessible manner.

Even more particularly this invention relates to le trays in which manually operable means are provided to lift the material in the file tray and move the same outwardly over the upper front edge of the rile tray to rmake the material more accessible to theA user.

Heretofore variousiile trays have been proposed but in all of these the papers or other material therein. must be bodily taken fromthe tray before becoming readily accessible to the user.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a novel file tray in which the contained material is presented to the user in a more readily accessible manner than heretofore by manually operable means lifting the material in the le tray and moving it outwardly over the upper front edge of the file tray toward the user.

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings but it is to be expressly understood that this embodiment is shown and described hereafter for the purposes of illustration only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Reference should be had to the appended claims to determine the scope of this invention.

In the several figures in which like reference characters designate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a view of one embodiment of the novel file tray of the present invention as seen by the user from above the upper left corner of the tray;

Fig. 2 is a view of the embodiment of Fig. l looking directly down into the same; and

Fig. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. l showing the position of the several parts in normal and in extended positions.

In the several figures I indicates the file tray generally provided with a front wall II, side walls I2 and I3, rear wall I4 and a bottom I 5 all suitably supported upon feet IE. The walls of the tray may be secured together by any suitable means here shown as tabs I'I welded to the adjacent wall and may be reinforced along upper edges as by beading I8.

A tray member I9 is mounted within le tray I9 and is provided with an upstanding rear wall 20. The forward Vedge of member I9 may be scalloped as at 2| or given other suitable shape to permit papers on member I9 to be easily grasped.

5 Claims. (Cl. 20G-74) Member I9 is cutaway at 22 to provide tongues which are turned into circular bearing members 23. Mounted in bearings 23 is actuating rod 24. Actuating rod 24 has arm 25 extending at ap'- proximately right angles thereto. Arm 25 terminates in an extension 26 lying in the same plane as rod 24 and arm 25. Extension 26 passes through a suitable opening 27 in side wall I3.

Rod 24 carries a second arm 28 at its opposite end extending at approximately right angles thereto. `Arm 28 is providedwith an extension 29 which passes through a suitable opening 39 in Arm 28 vand extension 29 lie in side wall I2. the same plane as rod 24, arm 25 and extension 26. Openings 21 and 30 are equidistant from front wall II and are adjacent bottom I5. Arms 25 and 28 are of equal length.

Extension 29 is provided with an actuating arm 3| terminating in any suitable gripping element 32. Arm 3| is so disposed with respect to extension 29 that when rod 24 and arms 25 and 28 lie upon bottom I5 arm 3| and grip 32 point toward the rear of le tray I0.

The operation of the illustrative embodiment of the novel file tray of the present invention is now readily apparent. Papers or other material placed in the le tray I0 rest upon member I9. With member I9 in normal and withdrawn position, as shown in Fig. 1, when it is desired to have ready access to the contents of the tray the user grasps grip 3,2 and rotates arm 3| in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 3. Rotation of arm 3| rotates arm 28, rod 24 and arm 25 raising the front end of tray I9 until arms 25 and 28 come perpendicular thereto. Further rotation of arm 3| now moves tray I9 outwardly over the upper edge of front wall II, rear wall 20 of tray I9 keeping the contents of tray I9 from sliding into file tray I9 and moving the contents upwardly and outwardly of file tray ID into readily accessible position for the user.

When the desired material is selected from tray I9 arrn3| is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 3 and tray I9 moves rearwardly and then downwardly into file tray I Il into its normal and withdrawn position.

It will now be apparent that the present invention provides a novel file tray having manually operable means for raising the material in the tray upwardly and outwardly into more readily accessible position for the user.

v Changes to or modications of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention herein described may now be suggested to those skilled in the art Without departing from the present inventive concept. Reference should be made to the appended claims to determine the scope of this inventive concept.

What is claimed is:

1. In a file tray having four walls and a bottom, a second bottom member mounted loosely in the file tray and normally resting upon said bottom, bearings carried by said second bottom member and means for raising the forward edge of said second bottom member upwardly and outwardly of the le tray comprising a manually rotatable shaft passing through said bearings, and elements secured angularly to said shaft and journaled in opposite walls of the le tray.

2. In a file tray having four walls and a bottom, a tray mounted loosely in the le tray and normally resting upon said bottom, a rear wall carried by said tray. bearings formed on said tray and means for raising the forward edge ofl said tray out of the file tray comprising a Inan- `ually rotatable shaft extending transversely across said tray and journaled in said bearings and angularly disposed arms carried by said shaft at each end thereof and journaled in adjacent side walls of the file tray.

3. In a file tray having four walls and a bottom, a Walled tray mounted in the file tray, bearings carried by said tray, a rotatable shaft extending transversely across said tray and journaled in said bearings, arms disposed angularly to and secured to the ends of said shaft and journaled in adjacent side walls of the iile tray,`

one of said arms extending through a side wall and a manually operable lever secured to said extending arm to rotate the same to raise said tray out of the nie tray.

4. In a tile tray having four walls and a bot. tom, a walled tray mounted in the file tray, bearings carried by said tray, arms disposed angularly to and journaled in said bearings at one end and journaled in adjacent side walls at the other end and manual means outside of the ile tray to rotate said arms to raise the forward edge of said tray out of the le tray.

5. In a file tray having four walls and a bottom, a walled tray mounted in the le tray, bearings carried by said tray, arms disposed angular-ly to and journaled in said bearings at opposite sides of said tray and journaled in adjacent side walls forwardly of said bearings, an extension for one of said arms extending through a side wall of the le tray and manual means secured to said extension outside of the file tray to rotate said extension to raise the forward edge of said tray out of the file tray.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

